Broadway takes center stage in UH offense

Taking center stageUH freshman QB Terrance Broadway didn't skip a beat when he assumed lead role

STEVE CAMPBELL , Copyright 2010 Houston Chronicle

Published
5:30 am CDT, Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Kevin Sumlin had a hunch it was the time and place to calm his freshman quarterback. In a matter of moments Saturday night at the Rose Bowl, Terrance Broadway had gone from reluctant redshirt to Houston Cougars quarterback of the present.

"Smile," Sumlin told Broadway, who was about to take the field against the UCLA Bruins. Senior Case Keenum, the school's career passing yardage leader, and junior Cotton Turner had gone down with season-ending injuries one quarter apart.

"I don't think we have time for that, coach," Broadway said.

Broadway got in enough game time Saturday to lead the UH offense on two drives. The Cougars scored all but three of their points in a 31-13 loss to UCLA with Broadway at quarterback. On a night when Houston produced its lowest point total of the Sumlin era, Broadway completed five of eight passes for 84 yards and a touchdown to James Cleveland.

A (star)ter is born?

"I called Terrance the other night and told him, 'Good job,' and that we're all on his ship now," junior receiver Tyron Carrier said. "He's got to lead this team, and that's what he's going to do."

Terrance Broadway directed two scoring drives in his debut against UCLA.

Terrance Broadway directed two scoring drives in his debut against UCLA.

Photo: Nick De La Torre, Houston Chronicle

Photo: Nick De La Torre, Houston Chronicle

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Terrance Broadway directed two scoring drives in his debut against UCLA.

Terrance Broadway directed two scoring drives in his debut against UCLA.

Photo: Nick De La Torre, Houston Chronicle

Broadway takes center stage in UH offense

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Sumlin said either Broadway or fellow true freshman David Piland will start against Tulane on Saturday.Although Sumlin indicated an announcement of who's starting will come early in the week, he also said Sunday, "Based on Terrance's performance Saturday night, obviously that bodes well for him."

"I thought he operated on the road in that situation probably as well as you could as a freshman," Sumlin said Monday. "I was very, very pleased with how he played. You really don't know until somebody gets out there."

Broadway was widely considered the prize catch of the Cougars' 2010 recruiting class, touted by Rivals.com as a four-star prospect and the nation's fifth-best dual threat quarterback. The summer after his sophomore season at Capitol High Academy in Baton Rouge, La., Broadway received a scholarship offer from Alabama. When Broadway suffered a torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee during his junior season, the Crimson Tide and a number of major schools back off on their recruitment.

Broadway was a 13-year-old tight end/strong safety when Germany first laid eyes on him. By the time the 6-1, 197-pound Broadway was a freshman, he was a quarterback. An early-season injury thrust Broadway into the lineup for a spell, giving him a taste of life as a starting quarterback. Broadway decided at that point to scrap his plans to attend Christian Life Academy, one of the Baton Rouge's top basketball schools, and concentrate on football.

He committed to UH the July before his senior season, eager to join a winning program that ran a spread offense similar to the one he ran at Capitol. When Sumlin decided at the start of the season to try to redshirt both of his freshman quarterbacks, it came as somewhat of a jolt to Broadway.

"We've been talking the last couple of weeks about how he really didn't want to be redshirted," Germany said. "He wanted to have a chance to play when he got there. He was on the scout team, and that was a new experience for him. We just talked about having a positive attitude and working hard. He took it in stride, started staying after practice and working hard on the scout team and improving his skills."

And as Broadway quickly learned, plans can change. With the Cougars trailing 31-3 on Friday night at the Rose Bowl, Broadway ran on to the field with the first-team offense. He carried himself as if he had been at it for years.

"Great poise," Carrier said. "He came in like it was his team, which it is. The main thing was us letting him know that we've got his back. He showed it. He was more calm than I was out there. I was hooked from there."

Broadway converted the first third down he faced, scrambling for 5 yards when he needed 2. On a third-and-9, he found running back Michael Hayes for 16. He kept the chains moving for 13 plays and 74 yards, until the Cougars were in the end zone. The payoff play — a 10-yarder to Cleveland - was a deftly thrown fade to the back of the end zone.

"Very impressive," Cleveland said. "Very poised. He showed a lot. He's going to be a great player."

If Broadway can keep up it up, Sumlin will be telling the story for years about the freshman he told to settle down and smile.

"He was probably calmer," Sumlin said, "than a lot of the coaches were at that point."